Mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. Nam Dokmai) production in Northern Thailand - Costs and returns under extreme weather conditions and different irrigation treatments
- Publication Type
- Journal contribution (peer reviewed)
- Authors
- Schulze, K; Spreer, W; Keil, A; Ongaprasert, S; Müller, J
- Year of publication
- 2013
- Published in
- Agricultural Water Management
- Pubisher
- Elsevier
- Band/Volume
- 126/
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.agwat.2013.04.010
- Page (from - to)
- 46-55
The manual irrigation of mangos by the use of water hoses is a common management practice in northernThailand. However, this method is water-inefficient and labor intensive. Farmers in northern Thailandare increasingly confronted with weather anomalies, such as extended droughts and excessive rainfall inconsecutive years. The objective of this paper is to investigate the water-saving potential and monetarybenefit of farmers of different irrigation methods under conditions of more frequent weather abnormali-ties. This paper is concluded with a discussion of the possible impact of water pricing on a farmer’s waterconsumption. To date, no comparative field test has been conducted between traditional irrigation andmicro sprinkler irrigation, which highlights the water-saving potential on one hand and shows a farmer’smonetary benefit on the other hand.For the experiments, micro sprinkler systems were installed in two commercial mango orchards. Threeirrigation scheduling methods were applied: full irrigation (FI) as calculated based on climatic waterbalance, deficit irrigation (DI), and farmer-controlled scheduling. In order to estimate the impact of usingmicro sprinklers, the fourth treatment consisted of farmer-controlled scheduling and the use of waterhose manually placed under the trees, as an applied practice.Cost-benefit analyses show that an investment in a micro sprinkler system can be recommended. As themarketable yield of fruits can be increased substantially (31% increase in class I fruits larger 300 g) withimproved irrigation, especially during a drought year, it is worthwhile to change traditional irrigationinto modern, water-efficient, and flexible systems. DI increases the crop water productivity substantiallyand stabilizes yield during drought. The profit can be increased by 55% under FI with micro sprinklers.This study shows clearly that an introduction in the volumetric water price alone will not have an impacton a farmer’s profit in the observed area. Therefore, it is questionable whether the introduction of a waterprice alone would stimulate the farmer to change his or her behavior in consumption.